Tuesday, August 28, 2007
One lesson...
I was talking to a friend today and he asked me a very profound question. He asked me.....
"If you could give your son one lesson to hold on to as he grew up, what would it be?"
At the time I think I said something like I would tell him not to ever downplay his own intelligence or aspirations to fit in with the crowd. Thats one thing I did, as stated
here, and I still regret it to this day. But then I thought, why should I do what so many other parents do, push my own dreams and problems onto my child.
So I decided to make a list of the top 10 things (in no order) that I would like my son to grow up knowing, any lessons that I would like to teach him.
lets see how this works out...
(Obviously him knowing that i love him would be on any mother's list, so I'll leave that one out)
1. There is never any reason to hit anyone. Male, Female, it doesnt matter, fighting is what dumb people do with their hands when they can't do it with their minds or their mouths...
2. If you have to fight, dont ever hit someone smaller or weaker than you, only a PUNK starts fights he knows he can win just for the fun of it...Someone should have told Bush that before IRAQ.
3. At the end of the day, make sure you are happy with the choices that you have made. Forget what anyone else wants or expects from you. If you are not happy, then you shouldn't have done it, and since you cant turn back time...dont do it in the 1st place.
4. Do something for your community. Being a smart black man is no longer enough in our society. Make yourself valuable to the people around you...even if its just because you help little old ladies take their groceries in....
5. When someone...(anyone...male or female) says no...they mean no. Regardless of the situation, you take that 1st answer and stick to it...No one has ever gotten in trouble for a NO!!!
6. Be honest, make your word mean something. When you promise to do something, do it. Credit with a company is great, but credit with people is even better...but much harder to redeem.
7. Whatever you do, do it well. The saying isnt practice makes perfect for nothing. Whether its sports, school or anything else. Do it with everything you have every single day...I guess this one is similar to another one up there...but this one merely says: Do what you do, and do it with pride and integrity.
8. Nobody is perfect. Don't hold grudges or animosity. Sometimes you have to be the 1st one to apoligize, even when you arent always wrong.
9. Be clean. Wear your clothing right. Don't speak with a heavy accent. You never know who you will run into walking down the street and they are called 1st impressions for a reason.
10. Be a man, and when you have children, pass down any bits of wisdom you may have to them. Its your job, and if you don't do it, no one else will.
Labels: Mommy-hood, P
Posted by ME at 8:27 PM
c1mments!
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